Blue Basil...who knew?!? - True Blue Quilts

My worlds collided with this month’s color challenge! The theme for the 2022 Monthly Color Challenge is Spicy, and May is all about basil. As a pasta lover, I will choose basil pesto sauce every time. And you know I love the color blue. So it was mind-blowing to learn about the African Blue Basil as the inspiration for May’s quilt block.

2022 Monthly Color Challenge Spicy — Variety is the Spice of Life!

Wait…basil is blue?

I am used to a green pesto sauce made from basil leaves. But, the African Blue Basil variety is a great plant to add to your herb garden. An extra bonus is it’s benefit to our friends, the bees. This article explains the plant in great detail

Favorite pesto recipe

I first tasted this chicken dish when my parents were following a keto diet. It was so delicious, quick, and easy to prepare that it has stayed in our meal plan rotation ever since.

Pesto Chicken

Place 4-8 skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish

Add one layer of sliced proscuitto

Cover with pesto sauce and add a layer of shredded mozzerella cheese

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (this is not exact…time and temperature may vary. Use a meat thermometor to make sure the chicken is fully cooked!)

Blue Basil Quilt Block

I had some perfect blue batiks for this block.

The No-Waste Flying Geese method makes four at a time. Here we are, lined up for chain piecing.

The instructions recommend drawing a line, then stitching 1/4″ away. I don’t bother with marking, but I do finger- press my pieces so I have a guideline as I am sewing. Want to learn more about my no-mark tricks? Read this blog post!

The units in this block are put together as a basic nine-patch. Once you understand the construction of that quilting classic, you see it everywhere! In this video, I explain why the nine-patch block is one of my favorites.

This flying geese quilt block is set on point. Our final step is to add corner triangles.

And here is the finished quilt block. If you would prefer a straight layout, be sure to download the version 2 instructions that Jen has prepared for us.